2024 Golden Globes Telecast Review: Globes return to form despite weak host
The 81st Golden Globes took some bold swings in its first outing on CBS. After years of controversy and a 2023 ceremony low on star power, this year’s Golden Globe Awards was something of a return to form. And if not everything worked– particularly host Jo Koy— it was still nice to see the giants of film and television come back to the Beverly Hilton for Hollywood’s biggest party.
First off, the Globes got a facelift and the result was one of the best looking Globe telecasts ever. The set featured a long catwalk leading to a circular stage in the middle of the ballroom. This gave the entire proceedings a less static feeling, as well as some truly hilarious moments as presenters temporarily forgot which way they were supposed to look.
As for the evening’s host, Koy is certainly a talented comedian, and awards show audiences are not always the most forgiving. The comic joked that he had only been hired to host the ceremony ten days prior to the assignment. Based on his performance, perhaps another few days might have been a good idea.
SEE 2024 Golden Globes winners list in all 27 movie and TV categories
Koy’s rambling, and shouty, monologue veered from boring to cringy, rarely ever being what it needed to be– funny! We got jokes about Meryl Streep’s awards dominance, which hasn’t been funny in at least a decade. There was also a very uncomfortable obsession with Barry Keoghan‘s penis, which Koy somehow managed to connect with Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in “Maestro.” At least Koy got a laugh out of Robert De Niro when he complimented De Niro’s ability to father children, but it didn’t make the sentiment any less creepy.
The entire monologue was an exercise in discomfort, for Koy and the audience. Perhaps most egregiously, the comedian blamed the writers for any jokes that failed to land, a desperate move that probably didn’t make for a happy backstage atmosphere.
Thankfully, Koy’s increasingly decreasing presence as the evening wore on gave the presenters an opportunity to shine. Whereas a lot of awards show banter can be stilted and award, some of the presenters managed to inject some humor and energy into the proceedings. Presenting with Angela Bassett, Jared Leto poked fun at his reputation as a method actor, obsessing on even the type of paper used for the envelope. Keri Russell and Ray Romano proved a dynamite comedic team, and it was refreshing to get a reminder that Russell really is a fantastic comedic actress.
Michelle Yeoh offered a playful return to her ass-kicking mode, a callback to the Oscar winner’s threat to beat up the piano player who tried to play her off last year. And who knew that Jon Batiste and Andra Day would be such a great team. Their playful banter had a raw comic energy that proved to be one of the unexpected delights of the evening. Imagine the podcast they would host.
In one of the night’s best moments, Simu Liu and Issa Rae delivered a hilarious rant highlighting their desire to have more “white people’s roles,” proceeding to rattle off a list of characters whose chief trait seemed to be a shared problem with alcohol.
The Globes introduced two new categories, and it’s hard to know if those will or should continue. The presentation of the Best Stand Up Comedy award was a dud, with winner Ricky Gervais not in attendance. Even though Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig gave a lovely speech in accepting the Best Cinematic Achievement Award for “Barbie,” it didn’t make up for the fact that the award itself appears to be nothing more than a glorified box office award.
It was a little disappointing to not have the presentations of Cecil B. DeMille Award and the Carol Burnett Award. Both were sorely missed, and what’s worse, there didn’t seem to be a good reason for them not being there.
The Globes have had a rough few years, but based on the sheer number of superstars in attendance at this year’s ceremony, it’s clear that the Golden Globes are back in a big way. Perhaps a return to a hostless ceremony would bring some unpredictability back to the show. Let the presenters run wild. It is Hollywood’s biggest party after all.
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